Trying not to duplicate...
- Patrick Ness, THE REST OF US JUST LIVE HERE. Also A MONSTER CALLS, but it's shorter and I know you like longer stories... it's good, though.
- Neil Gaiman, CORALINE and THE GRAVEYARD BOOK.
- And if you don't finally read *something* by Terry Pratchett during this trip, you and I are going to have words.
Since you're specifically looking for YA, I'll suggest
A HAT FULL OF SKY THE WEE FREE MEN comes first, what the hell was I thinking?!?
- Nancy Garden, ANNIE ON MY MIND. Def. a should-have-read for LGBTQ YA.
- Eva Ibbotson... hard to pin down just one for this, I love all her books and they're definitely classics. My faves are the MG monstery-comedy ones, but I think... (spins roulette wheel)... JOURNEY TO THE RIVER SEA probably fits best into the YA should-have-read category. (I also strongly endorse THE STAR OF KAZAN, I've read it twice
).
ETA: based on input received
- non-YA Pratchett. Can start anywhere, really, but for you I'd probably prescribe either SMALL GODS or HOGFATHER (since it'll be close to Christmas).